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Alex Vause
Alex Pearl Vause is a main character on ''Orange Is the New Black''. She was an inmate at Litchfield Penitentiary and the "prison wife" of protagonist Piper Chapman as they aren't legally married. She was transfered to Ohio in Season 7. She is portrayed by Laura Prepon. Alex's character is based on Nora (who is really called Catherine Cleary Wolters)[http://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2014/04/orange-is-the-new-black-real-alex The Real Alex of Orange Is the New Black Speaks for the First Time: “I Was Not Piper’s First, and I Certainly Did Not Seduce Her” - Vanity Fair] in the memoir, Orange is the New Black: My Year in a Women’s Prison. Personality Alex Vause is snarky, manipulative and street smart. While she does associate with other inmates, she keeps to herself emotionally, although she isn't afraid to fight back if provoked. Alex is often seen with a book in hand as she loves reading. Alex is good at reading people and is perceptive. Both Alex and Piper betray each other for personal gain, despite their feelings for each other. Alex relies on Piper just as much as Piper relies on her, but she uses her hard demeanor to hide it all, only showing weakness on rare occasion to close friends such as Nicky. Alex has good survival skills, is very smart and calm and usually has a good sense of humor when facing problems. Physical Appearance Alex Vause is a tall (5'10"), athletically built woman. In "Thirsty Bird" Piper, incorrectly, states that Alex is 5'9, usually wearing dark eyeliner and her eyebrows plucked. She wears glasses with thick black frames (described as secretary glasses by Piper). She has a penchant for dark lipstick when seen in flashbacks. She is a fan of tattoos and displays quite a few proudly. She has a salt shaker tattoo in the back of her left shoulder, big red rose tattoos on her right shoulder, a tattoo on her right wrist, small tattoos on her left arm, a large tattoo on her right and a shooting star down her side. She has long black hair which previously had blue streaks in it (as seen in flashbacks). Biography For a list of episodes featuring Alex's flashbacks, see here. Before Litchfield Alex is the daughter of Diane Vause and Lee Burley. Vause was raised by her mother solely, as her father, a "rock star", wasn't aware of her existence. Alex's mother worked four jobs to support them; nevertheless, they still struggled financially and Alex suffered bullying from her peers (notably Jessica Wedge) due to this. Her mother tried to console her, pointing out that her father was famous and she could use this knowledge to remain strong in the face of torment. When she was older, Alex tracked down her father and, facing bitter disappointment at finding him an underwhelming, drug-taking washed-up old star whose life still revolved around his former glory, struck up a friendship with his drug dealer Fahri. He subsequently became her industry contact in a drug cartel led by kingpin Kubra Balik. Alex then worked as a smuggler and dealer for many years. She later took a sexual interest in Piper Chapman after meeting her in a bar. Alex was living with her girlfriend Sylvia at the time, but Alex eventually broke up the relationship and began dating Piper. Alex gradually integrated Piper into the drug trade while they traveled the world living in luxury. Vause once convinced Piper to smuggle cash through customs at an airport in Europe, the crime for which Piper is doing time. Vause specifically named Piper during her testimony, which is what led to Piper's later arrest. After Piper broke up with her, Vause began using heroin (she was sent to rehab by Kubra to get clean shortly after). She appears to have moments of depression, telling Nicky that she can no longer "get past the swirling darkness in her brain long enough to land on anything" and mentioning to Piper that upon entering prison, she was on anti-depressants, which she now trades for black eyeliner. Vause's mother died from an aneurysm during Vause and Chapman's relationship; Alex finds this out just as Piper is preparing to leave her. Alex presumes that the break-up will be on hold whilst she deals with her death and attends the funeral, but Piper abandons her, refusing to stay around for support even though she is the only real friend that Alex has. Alex cites this as the reason she later named Piper, as that was the last time they had seen each other and Alex still felt betrayed. During Kubra Balik's trial, Alex goes out to a bar. She is seen drinking when a French man reads her tattoo "love is pain" which she says she got in response to Piper's. She states love is not beauty. He asks if it is her girlfriend and Alex replies ex and that she is purely gay and would not sleep with him ever. She asks if wants to here if he wants to hear the rest of the story, to which he replies yes as it will distract him from his own love-pain. He orders a drink for himself and Alex. She says her love pain is worse than his love pain. He says pain isn't a contest. She also says that Piper broke her heart, but she messed up and acknowledges she ruined Piper's life (gave her name) by saying she went nuclear. She refuses to tell more info as her drink is laid down. He tells his story of how his wife was having an affair with a butcher, which led him to have an affair with a flight attendant, and then she responded with an architect, him a history teacher, Jazz singer, secretary, and two waitresses in response. He states he is now alone as she is with the architect. She revealed that she gave Piper's name and incriminated her more, in return for less time. This was six years after their breakup. Later, Alex is with a girl and receives a call from Piper and sends it to voicemail, thinking that Piper knows about Alex naming her. She listens to the voicemail as she sends the girl out, saddened. Season One Vause's first encounter with her ex-girlfriend in prison is not positive. Piper refuses to acknowledge her due to her assumption that Alex named her and is, therefore, the cause of her arrest, but Alex insists that she had not named her as a suspect. After Chapman has gotten on bad terms with Red and is refused meals, Alex takes it upon herself to give her a piece of cornbread. Although Piper throws her offering away, it showed the level of feelings Vause still has for her ex-lover. She is then punished by Red herself for giving Piper food by enduring the punishment as Piper. She is starved out until she gives Red a foot massage for 45 minutes. After Larry Bloom lies to Piper on the advice of his father, telling Piper that Alex did not name her as an accomplice, Alex and Piper reconcile. During Taystee's goodbye party, Alex and Piper dance together provocatively. Pennsatucky, the homophobic religious fanatic who hates both Piper and Alex, reports them to Sam Healy, also fabricating a lie that she has seen the pair having sex in the showers that morning. As a result, he has Piper thrown into the SHU. She is later released by Joe Caputo when it became clear that the punishment was unjustified. Upon release, Piper finds Alex in her dorm and pulls her into the chapel where they then proceeded to have sex ("Fucksgiving"). They continue their love affair until Larry reveals that she had actually named Piper as a suspect. During the last episode of the season, Piper admits to Alex that she chooses Larry over her, which results in Alex shutting her out completely, and telling Piper that Piper doesn't get to run to her anymore. Larry unexpectedly visits Alex hoping to confront her about Piper. Alex reveals to Larry that it was Piper that initiated their fling, saying, "She came to me". Larry ends the engagement to Piper and she goes running to Alex for comfort but is rebuffed as promised. Before the Christmas pageant, Alex and Nicky Nichols, whom Alex has gotten for Secret Santa are sexually intimate in her bunk ("Can't Fix Crazy"). Season Two Alex Vause does not have many appearances in the second season. In their trial, despite saying she wouldn't and urging Piper to do the same, she named the prime drug lord, Kubra Balik, but the court failed to have him arrested due to misplaced evidence. She got released due to a plea deal, while Piper had to return to Litchfield. Alex became scared of what would happen to her due to the fact that she was living on her own with no security or protection and her murderous ex-boss who was seeking revenge. She often sent letters and a Valentine to Piper, telling her how sorry she was, but Chapman, still angry, either threw them away or disregarded them. In the season finale, Vause got arrested again thanks to Piper convincing Polly to inform Alex's probation officer of her plans to skip town, which violated her probation. This was further complicated by Alex having had a gun when the probation officer arrived at her apartment. Season Three Alex arrives back at Litchfield embarrassed and questions Piper on why she is back. Piper later admits that Alex got back due to her actions, and the two have hate sex. This continues until "Empathy Is a Boner Killer" when Alex forgives Piper during drama class when new counselor Berdie Rogers has them act out an improv scene between a manager and an unhappy customer who purchased bruised fruit. Afterward, however, Alex is no longer able to hurt Piper during sex, which makes Piper less interested in being intimate with her. When a new inmate, Lolly Whitehill, starts to obsessively observe Alex, she becomes very paranoid, thinking she has been sent by Kubra to kill her. She eventually confronts Lolly, only to discover that she suffers from a mental illness, hears voices and has constant paranoid delusions. Later in Season Three, Piper grows increasingly dismissive of Alex's paranoia, refusing to believe anyone could sneak in and attempt to kill her. Alex and Piper fall out and Piper cheats on Alex with Stella Carlin, a new inmate. Piper and Alex split for good, but in a scene with Yoga Jones, she asks, "Do you ever have a thing with someone that is never really over even when it is?", whilst talking about Piper. In the season three finale, "Trust No Bitch", Alex's fate is left unknown after Aydin Bayat appears in Litchfield's greenhouse, posing as a Correctional Officer, and corners her. Season Four In the Season Four premiere, "Work That Body For Me", Alex is being choked to death by Aydin when Lolly Whitehill walks in, hearing the scuffle. She saves Alex by stomping on Aydin's chest and neck until he apparently dies. That night, Alex goes to bury the body when she discovers he is still alive, albeit paralyzed, and tearfully kills him by smothering him. The next day Alex, Lolly, and Frieda cut up and bury the body in the garden. Alex spends the season completely consumed by guilt and trying to keep Lolly from confessing to the murder. She becomes closer to Red, who she tells everything to, and who tries to help her figure out what to do with Lolly ("Doctor Psycho"). When Nicky returns from the SHU, she immediately relapses and asks Alex to smoke crack with her in the corn crops. Eventually, Piper joins them and they both reveal the traumatic things that have happened to them recently, which helps them rekindle their relationship. Piper apologizes for neglecting Alex ("Friends in Low Places"). When the body is eventually discovered, Alex waits all night before eventually deciding to turn herself in. However, CO Sam Healy has already informed the other COs as to Lolly's involvement and has her sent to the psychiatric ward ("People Persons"). Red sees Alex crying in Lolly's bunk, again guilty about someone being punished because of her. Alex tries to memorialize Aydin by leaving notes around the prison (written with her non-dominant hand) saying "His name was Aydin Bayat". Piper finds one and freaks out, eventually convincing Alex that not only was Bayat a hitman, and not only did she kill him in self-defense, but the notes can too easily be traced back to Alex herself. Alex agrees to let Piper find all the notes and they burn them. The trash can with the fire inside gets kicked over by the rioting inmates in the season finale, and it is unknown whether all the paper had been destroyed. Piper and Alex are last seen running away from the riot caused by Poussey Washington's death. Season Five After the death of Poussey Washington, Piper and Alex decide to lay low, playing house out in the prison yard while the inmates are inside rioting. Meanwhile, while Piper is making sure their prisoner Linda Ferguson is not telling anyone about the murder of Aydin while Alex has a group of followers who want to stay out of the riot and spend the rest of their time. Until Piper decided to do something else and became a riot girl for a few days by helping Taystee with negotiations and honoring Poussey Washington while Alex laws low with her group. One day they end up having shower sex, but before initiating, they were taken by Piscatella who brings Red's prison family to make them watch him torture Red. Piscatella breaks Alex's arm in the process and soon they are released from Piscatella when the other inmates from the secret bunker find them and rescue them. They all spend the remainder of the season in Frieda's emergency bunker where Piper proposes to Alex, and she agrees to marry her. Alex is last seen with the remaining 10 inmates in Frieda's bunker where they all hold hands and wait until the CERT guards come and take them. Season Six After the events of Season Five, Alex was taken to a hospital because of her serious injury along with Zirconia and Alana Dwight There she had two surgeries. Once she was somewhat recovered, she was brought into C-Block at Litchfield Max. Alex and Zirconia arrive back from the hospital. Piper is lying in bed, depressed when Alex arrives at her cell and pretends to have lost memory as a prank. Piper kisses her until Ginger tells them to wrap it up. ("I'm The Talking Ass") Piper is sleeping when she wakes up with cheese in her nose as a prank. Madison laughs and then asks her to fill her commissary as payment for moving Alex next door, saying Stella told her about Piper's wealth. Piper goes out to Alex and tells her that it's a terrible prank, and about the extortion. Alex tells her it's just her trying to establish dominance. Alex later talks to Badison and convinces her to leave Piper alone and that extortion isn't funny ("Mischief Mischief") Piper is in line with Alex who is waiting to see the gynecologist. Piper says that she isn't in line she's just waiting with Alex. She says that she's waiting until she gets out to go to the doctor in nine months. Piper is angry that they lost the cheese jobs. Alex and Piper are having lunch while Piper tells Alex about what she did. Alex tells her that she needs to not give a shit about all that and just be there with Alex. Piper tells her that they have a wedding to plan. Alex says in four years but Piper says she can't wait that long. Alex doesn't want a prison wedding but Piper manages to convince her. Piper realizes what she has done to Red as Red is assigned to C-Block. She and Alex go over and apologize but Red ignores them. They state that Red can still talk to them as they still consider her a friend. Later, Piper begins to cry to Alex as Creech has defecated on her bed. ("State of the Uterus") Piper comes over to Alex and is made do a quiz which leads to Piper deciding to try writing a memoir, much like Piper Kerman. According to the quiz, Alex has 'peaked' already. Alex later goes and speaks to Badison, who slut drops in front of her. Alex tells her who is corrupt and to import phones. Badison is impressed Piper arrives in the yard and tells Alex about her kickball plan. Alex is doubtful but Piper states that she needs to leave the readers on a good note. Madison approaches and asks to talk to Alex, Piper gets defensive but complies. Alex's advice backfires as when Madison gets shanked by Tina Swope and almost gets caught with a phone stuffed up her cast. She quickly passes the phone off to Alex who hides it in her sling. Madison tries to recruit Alex into helping her but Alex just wants to keep her head down.("Changing Winds") After the shanking, the bunks are searched and Alex is trying to make a hole in the wall behind a picture. She is unable to in time and Creech tells her to look away while she hides hot sauce up her vagina. Creech watches as Hellman pats Alex down, who have put the phone in her shoe, between two socks. She has to open her sling but tries to guide him away by saying that's a rookie move. CO Dixon finds hair in Creech's bunk and is teased by him. Creech reveals to Alex the cap fell off the hot sauce bottle, while it was still in there. Alex was on Pinterest during the lockdown as she got bored. Madison returns and calls over Alex to Carol, who likes her. Later, Deitland arrives and she states that Alex is rich. Alex glares at Badison as Deitland states she circles back around. She confronts Badison and tells her they're now equal, giving her phone and telling her to keep her out of the gang stuff. Madison states it was an engagement gift. ("Gordons") Piper and Alex are sitting with Alana Dwight, Zirconia and Gloria Mendoza when Piper is complaining she cannot get signatures. Alex volunteers to sign, but Piper states she already forged the name. Later, Piper comes back and has a full list after attending a service with Beth. When Beth says she's a sore loser Alex looks annoyed. ("Break the String") Alex is no longer in a sling. Piper is stretching. Alex asks if her and Madison are playing nice. Piper says that Madison is a little out of shape. Alex says that she's a vindictive psycho. Piper says that she has it under control and invites Alex to come play kickball with them. Alex is preoccupied with thinking about applying for a business degree. Piper says that she loves that Alex is thinking about their future. Alex is frustrated with the application though.("Well This Took a Dark Turn") Alex walks into Piper's room and asks her how she planned on getting into business school when all her accomplishments are felonies. Alex asks what's going on with her. Piper shows her the packet of heroin that Madison planted on her. Piper says she has a plan that she's going to go to a nice CO and have them transfer her to Ad Sec. Alex tells her to just flush the heroin down the toilet. Piper says that that's the only proof she has of Madison's bullying. A CO knocks on the door and tells Alex to leave the cell and gives them both a shot. Alex mocks her saying look at the trustworthy COs. Later, Alex approaches Madison and asks her again to lay off Piper. Madison says that Piper mouthed off of to her in front of her girls and she can't just let that go. She does tell Alex that if Alex joined her crew that she'd lay off Piper. Alex tells her that that's never going to happen. Madison says for her to enjoy the next couple of years in Max. Alex visits Carol and The Brown Twins in the salon where they make a deal. Alex now works with Carol and Carol would stop Badison. ("Double Trouble") Before Piper's release, Alex and Piper are walking down the hall and hide from Hellman. Nicky and Lorna surprise them and Alex and Piper have a prison wedding which Nicky officiates. They exchange vows. Piper vows to wait for Alex. Flaca and Cindy arrive and watch alongside Lorna. The next morning, Piper is called to be taken to processing to be released. She and Alex share a heartfelt goodbye, during which Piper makes Alex promise she'll make it out of prison just as she promises to wait for her. Alex is seen to have lied about submitting her business application. She throws it in the bin before Carol gets her to come to the briefing. ("Be Free") Alex is told to attack the people behind her. Madison asks to show her shiv, Alex actually has one. Alex later cheers on Adeola which annoys Badison. She explains that nobody wants the gang war, not even Carol. She smiles watching D- and C- Block cheering for each other, alongside each other. Alex is transferred to Ohio because she broke off her relationship with CO McCullough. While she is there, we see Janae Watson, Alison Abdullah, Norma. Gina, Yoga Jones, Brook Soso, Leanne, Angie, Sankey all together. Relationships Romantic *Piper Chapman (girlfriend/fiancee/prison wife) *Nicky Nichols (fling) *Sylvia (ex-girlfriend) *Digger (ex-girlfriend) *Artesian McCullough (short relationship, Season 7) Friends *Piper Chapman *Nicky Nichols *Lorna Morello *Lolly Whitehill *Red (former) *Frieda Berlin *Fahri *Dayanara Diaz *Yoga Jones *Gina Murphy *Anita DeMarco *Norma Romano *Blanca Flores *Taystee Jefferson *Cindy Hayes *Suzanne Warren *Gloria Mendoza *Madison Murphy (questionable) *Carol Denning Enemies *Kubra Balik (former boss) *Aydin (hitman sent by Kubra) *Stella Carlin (love rival as of Season 3) *Piscatella (captured and broke her arm) *Linda Frguson (Blackmailed and blackmailed by) *Maria Ruiz *Ramona Contreras (Part of Maria’s gang) Trivia In the memoir, Kerman graduates from Smith as “a well-educated young lady from Boston with a thirst for bohemian counterculture and no clear plan.” She craves risk and adventure and eventually meets “Nora,” a member of “a clique of impossibly stylish and cool lesbians in their mid-thirties” Kerman hung out with. Nora’s an international drug trafficker Kerman describes as “a short, raspy-voiced Midwesterner who looked a bit like a white Eartha Kitt.” Before long, Kerman’s jetting to exotic locales, traveling with Nora and helping transport money. Eventually, the dark side of the business, Nora’s tendency to leave Kerman alone in unfamiliar places, Nora’s desire for Kerman to transport drugs and Nora’s frequent squabbles with her partner wear Kerman down, and in 1993 she cuts all ties with Nora and moves to San Francisco. Although it’s not discussed in the memoir and Kerman uses pseudonyms for everybody (except herself, Larry, Sister Ardeth Platte, and Sister Alice Gerard), I was able to track down the actual case and the involved parties and it turns out that the drug ring’s shit hit the fan shortly after Kerman hit the road. In March 1994, according to court papers, one of the ring’s couriers was arrested at O’Hare in Chicago. He named other participants, who named other participants, and “eventually the entire conspiracy came crashing down.” The alleged drug kingpin in question is Buruji Kashamu, known to Kerman and associates as “Alhaji.” He’s the one whose anticipated extradition to the US for trial delayed Kerman’s sentence for six years — in fact, the U.S. is still trying to extradite him. Kerman was among fourteen indicted parties, along with “Nora”/Alex (real name: Catherine Wolters) and Nora’s sister “Anne” (real name: Ellen), who was actually Kashamu’s lover for a time. “I thought she was just a Wiccan heterosexual version of her sister, but apparently she was the lover of a West African drug kingpin,” Kerman writes of “Anne.” Kerman doesn’t see Nora again until about a month before Kerman’s release date, when Nora and Kerman are shipped by Con Air to Oklahoma City, and then to the Chicago MCC, where they’ve been called, along with Anne, to testify against another member of the drug ring. In Chicago, the two girls tentatively get friendly and eventually Kerman, Nora and Anne end up in the same cell, each other’s allies in the miserable administrative facility. Kerman relays that Anne is serving a seven-year sentence in Kentucky and Nora’s doing her time in Dublin but doesn’t reveal the length of Nora’s sentence. However, the 2009 court papers state that both women are free. *Catherine Cleary Wolters, Piper Kerman's ex and the basis of Nora Jansen, published her own memoir entitled "Out of Orange: A Memoir".[4] Their TV counterpart (Alex Vause) is very different from both Wolters and her novelized character, Jansen.[5 *She has already 'peaked' according to a quiz she took with Piper. *She is the tallest female recurring character, along with Helen Van Maele, even taller than Vee and Cindy,( but not taller than Sally Jo, a guest star) Memorable Quotes Gallery Season 1 Promotional Photos AlexPromo1.png AlexPromo2.png AlexPromo3.png Alex Vause.png "I Wasn't Ready" AlexEp1A.png AlexEp1B.png PiperAlexEp1.png AlexEp1C.png AlexEp1D.png AlexEp1E.png Season 2 Promotional Photos Alex promotional pic.jpg Season 3 Promotional Photos Others alex3.gif alex4.gif alex1.gif alex2.gif alex8.gif alex7.gif alex6.gif AlexGIF.gif AlexParty.gif Appearances Navigation References Category:Litchfield Inmates Vause, Alex Vause, Alex Category:Season 3 Characters Category:Laundress Category:Janitors Category:Previously Released Inmates Category:MDC Inmates Category:Season 4 Characters Category:Season 5 Characters Category:Season 6 Characters Category:MAX inmates Category:Characters based on real people Category:Season 7 Characters Category:Gardeners